Chorus Aviation places order for six Bombardier Q400 NextGen airliners

FARNBOROUGH, England, 12 July 2012. Halifax, Nova Scotia-based Chorus Aviation Inc., the parent company of Jazz Aviation LP ("Jazz"), has placed a firm order for six Bombardier Q400 NextGen airliners. The transaction involves the conversion to firm orders of six of the 15 options taken by Jazz with its original order for 15 Q400 NextGen airliners, announced on April 30, 2010. Jazz will operate the aircraft under the Air Canada Express banner.

The order is valued at approximately $189 million US based on list prices.

The Q400 NextGen turboprop airliner is the successor to Bombardier's Dash 8/Q-Series family of aircraft. The Q400 is optimized for short-haul operations and features 70- to 80- seats and has a maximum cruise speed of 414 mph.

Jazz, which flies Bombardier aircraft exclusively, accepted Bombardier’s 400th Q400 aircraft in June 2012. The carrier’s current fleet includes 80 Dash 8/Q-Series turboprops and 51 CRJ Series regional jets. Jazz is the second largest airline in Canada in terms of fleet size and number of routes flown.

Including the Chorus Aviation order, Bombardier has booked firm orders for 434 Q400 and Q400 NextGen airliners and delivered aircraft are in service with approximately 40 operators in 30 countries.